Pro Carver Stories – Nita's Fruit and Vegetable Carving Videoshttps://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog
Learn to Carve and Wow Your FriendsWed, 03 Jun 2020 23:40:43 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.8Mini and Mickey Mouse Watermelon Carvingshttps://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/mickey-mouse-watermelon-carvings/
https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/mickey-mouse-watermelon-carvings/#respondFri, 05 Apr 2019 19:05:26 +0000https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/?p=22234Mickey Mouse has been a fan favorite of kids of all ages for over 90 years now. Take a look at many ways that some of our customers who have been students of our lessons, have created Mini and Mickey Mouse watermelon carvings to celebrate birthdays and special occasions. Whether you use your Mini and […]

]]>Mickey Mouse has been a fan favorite of kids of all ages for over 90 years now. Take a look at many ways that some of our customers who have been students of our lessons, have created Mini and Mickey Mouse watermelon carvings to celebrate birthdays and special occasions.

Whether you use your Mini and Mickey Mouse watermelon carvings as fruit tray centerpieces, table decorations, vases, or fruit bowls, these photos are bound to give you inspiration for your own creations.

Mickey Mouse Watermelon Carvings

Customer turned Pro carver, Cindy Rozich carved these Mickey Mouse watermelons for her grandson’s 1st birthday celebration. As you can see, her grandson and family loved them.

Esther Villavicencio used her Mickey Mouse watermelon carving as a centerpiece for a fruit tray.

Customer/student Marguerita DeLaRosa cleverly carved this Mickey Mouse watermelon with an open top use as a fruit bowl.

Hi! Nita,

I made this for a friend, her Granddaughter had her first Birthday party and the theme was Mickey Mouse so I carved her a watermelon my first Mickey Mouse hope to make many many more now that I have the right tools.

Marguerita from Vacaville Ca.

Customer and Pro carver Mariano Orozco carved both of these beautiful watermelons to decorate the food table.

Mariano Orozco carved this Micky melon for a 6th birthday party.

Mini Mouse Watermelon Carvings

Let’s not forget about Mickey’s pal Mini Mouse.

Mariano Orozco, who is a quite prolific carver, found many ways to carve her for special occasions.

Mariano Orozco carved a very similar Mini Mouse above and below. At first glance, you might think they are the same. See if you can see the differences. These extra details can might give you ideas.

IN addition, this Mini Mouse melon also carved by Mariano is different than the one above. See the differences in some of the details?

Here is another great carving by Mariano of baby Mini Mouse with birthday cake. Cute graphic, right?

Mariano’s carvings are so well done and well photographed, that I just had to include these last 2 Mini Mouse watermelon carvings.

I love the daisies that Mariano added on beside Mini Mouse’s face. Very pretty. You can get familiar with daisy carving techniques in our video lessons, Amazing Carving with Jimmy Zhang.

If you find yourself inspired to carve graphics onto watermelons for your upcoming special occasions, check out my video lessons, Carving Letters and Words. You will find our Pattern Transfer Fabric and our Thai Pro knife to be excellent tools to use with carving designs, like Mickey and Mini, onto watermelons.

Ninoska Sanchez used her Mini Mouse watermelon carving as a vase/base to hold carved strawberry flowers.

In conclusion, you’ve now seen several ways that you can use watermelons carved with Mickey Mouse and Mini Mouse patterns. You can use them as decorations for tables, as a centerpiece in a fruit tray, as a fruit bowl, and as a vase/base for carved fruit flowers, or even real flowers. Have fun making your own.

]]>https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/mickey-mouse-watermelon-carvings/feed/0Dana Carvey Pumpkinhttps://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/dana-carvey-pumpkin/
https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/dana-carvey-pumpkin/#respondThu, 11 Oct 2018 23:16:02 +0000https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/?p=21988Learn to carve recognizable faces on pumpkins like this Dana Carvey Pumpkin and you’ll surprise and delight your guests. Besides it being fun, you can offer your skills for profit, too. Here is a pumpkin that I carved last year for a Hospital Fund raising Gala. Dana Carvey was to be the special guest speaker […]

]]>Learn to carve recognizable faces on pumpkins like this Dana Carvey Pumpkin and you’ll surprise and delight your guests. Besides it being fun, you can offer your skills for profit, too.

Here is a pumpkin that I carved last year for a Hospital Fund raising Gala. Dana Carvey was to be the special guest speaker at the event. So, I was hired to carve this so that it could be displayed in an area of the hospital leading up to the Event.

You can learn to carve recognizable portraits like these in our Portrait Carving Lessons. Click here to learn more about our lessons that will have you carving impressive pumpkin portraits. I used our Pattern Transfer Fabric that we sell in our online shop, to transfer the pattern that I made to the pumpkin before carving. It makes it so much easier and faster to carve pattern designs onto pumpkins and watermelons.

Of course, you don’t have to just carve celebrities. It’s always fun to delight people that you love with pumpkin portraits of themselves.

]]>https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/dana-carvey-pumpkin/feed/0Astonishing Animal Pumpkin Sculptureshttps://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/animal-pumpkin-sculptures/
https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/animal-pumpkin-sculptures/#respondSat, 06 Oct 2018 17:08:47 +0000https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/?p=21945Awesomeness and more awesomeness. The pumpkin carving team of Sue Beatrice and Andy Gertler create some of THE most impressive animal pumpkin sculptures that you will find anywhere in the world. Just look at these photos! If you happen to be lucky enough to be able to visit the Bronx Zoo on any weekend in […]

]]>Awesomeness and more awesomeness. The pumpkin carving team of Sue Beatrice and Andy Gertler create some of THE most impressive animal pumpkin sculptures that you will find anywhere in the world. Just look at these photos!

If you happen to be lucky enough to be able to visit the Bronx Zoo on any weekend in October, you’ll be able to see this team in action. A new creature or scene will come to life every weekend in October! Sundays are best to see the finished product.

Here’s a look at some of the animal pumpkin sculptures that ‘Pumpkin Sculpt USA’ have created so far.

Pumpkin Sculpture of Orangutan

Look at this astonishing pumpkin sculpture of a Bornean Orangutan. Look closely at the amazing eyes. Those are not glass eyes. They are carved.

This carving of an adult male Bornean Orangutan created by Sue Beatrice, Andy Gertler and Julia Jankowski weighs about 450 lbs which is about twice the weight of an actual adult male.

Look at how realistic the whole sculpture is! All the visible parts are carved pumpkin

Here is another view of this 450 pound orangutan sculpture at the Bronx Zoo.

Construction of the Orangutan Sculpture

I love that the Pumpkin Sculpt Team shared photos of how they constructed this fantastic carving.

In the first photo you can see Sue working on the hand. You can also see how they add the musculature before adding any fur. The next photo shows the supports that holds up the long arm.

The behind the scenes photo show how the pieces of pumpkin that make up the sculpture are supported. Interesting, isn’t it.

Seeing how this is made up of lots of parts of pumpkin may open your mind to possibilities for making your own amazing pumpkin sculptures. A pumpkin carving does not have to be from a single pumpkin.

Big Cat Pumpkin Sculptures

Look at this ferocious lion pumpkin carving. I wish we could see the assembly of pumpkins that make up this sculpture. It’s mind boggling because the body and hind leg looks so seamless. Wow!

More Marvelous Animal Pumpkin Sculptures

You gotta love this sweet panda pumpkin sculpture. Right?

Yet another amazing pumpkins sculpture of a baby elephant playing with butterflies. You can see the extraordinary artists of Pumpkin Sculpt USA in the background. From left to right, they are Andy Gertler, JL Cook, and Sue Beatrice.

JL Cook gives a kiss to their horse pumpkin sculpture.

Here’s a creepy fun sculpture of a rat concocting a creepy stew of lizards, snakes, scorpions and more. I’ts so imaginative, isn’t it?

You can see a couple more animal pumpkin sculptures by the Pumpkin Sculpt USA team in one of our previous posts by clicking here.

Thank you to Sue Beatrice, Andy Gertler, JL Cook, and Julia Jankowski of Pumpkin Sculpt USA for sharing their creative talents with us via their photos. If you see this post before the last weekend in October 2018, you still have time to see their latest animal pumpkin sculptures at Boo at the Zoo at the Bronx Zoo. Sundays are the best days to see their finished creations. If you see this article after Oct 2018, check out the Bronx Zoo for future years’ October season. This is the 7th year that pumpkin Sculpt USA has been carving at the Bronx Zoo, so I’m guessing it’s likely that they will be there in future years as well.

]]>https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/animal-pumpkin-sculptures/feed/0Carved Vegetable Birdshttps://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/carved-vegetable-birds/
https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/carved-vegetable-birds/#commentsMon, 17 Sep 2018 01:42:58 +0000https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/?p=21882There are probably as many ways to make carved vegetable birds as there are people who like to carve fruits and vegetables. In this article, I’ll show you a whole bunch of different style of carved birds. Some are elaborate and gorgeous, created by skilled carvers, while others are whimsical and easy for anyone to […]

]]>There are probably as many ways to make carved vegetable birds as there are people who like to carve fruits and vegetables. In this article, I’ll show you a whole bunch of different style of carved birds. Some are elaborate and gorgeous, created by skilled carvers, while others are whimsical and easy for anyone to make.

Peacock Style Carved Vegetable Birds

This peacock type bird with cascading tail feathers was carved from Diakon, carrots and beets. Customer of our lessons, Susan Belden Lombardo made this beautiful display for the Grand Opening of Story Point senior living facility.

Hi Nita. Thank you for bring such a wonderful teacher!
Susie Belden Lombardo

Here is a better look at the cascading tail feathers of Susan’s beautiful bird.

Hello Nita,
My favorite events are weddings.
I often do something special for a new couple to make their wedding
memorable.
Aneta Lekas

Customer/student Kate Kierat carved this peacock type bird into a watermelon. She extended the tail feathers by attaching additional ‘feathers’ carved from the watermelon rind.

Other fancy carved birds with long tail feathers

Customer (and former student of our lessons) Yolanda Diaz is now a professional carver. She carved these beautiful melons and topped her display with a fancy bird carved from diakon.

This lovely bird with long tail feathers was carved by customer /student turned pro, Saada Al-Taie, in the Sultanate of Oman. Kabocha squash, which is sometimes known at Japanese pumpkin, is great for carving these types of birds.

Flock of Little Carrot Birds

Ernesto Alvarez who had carved for top government organizations at the White House carved a flock of small carrot birds to top this watermelon carving.

When adding eyes to carved vegetable birds, you can use glass eyes that come on wires. They are ready to stick right into your vegetable carving. Realistic looking glass eyes can be found in many sizes online. However, simple household items can make great eyes for birds, too. Try using pins with round heads, tiny thumbtacks with round heads, or even spices like whole cloves and whole pepper corns. round bits of vegetable skins and fruit peels can be used for simple eyes as you’ll see in the examples below.

Simple to Make Birds

This adorable tangerine bird was made by Sherine Moustafa. I’ve included this photo to show how you can make fruit bird so very easily.

Another cute simple idea is to make Penguins from eggplant. Make sure to brush the cut areas with lemon or soak for a couple of minutes in salted ice water to delay the oxidization that can make the white areas turn brown. Rey Alaras made these.

This zucchini rooster is a fun way to serve a veggie tray. Omusugu Henry create this one.

Caged Birds

Rani Patel’s crookneck squash birds with carrot beaks are displayed within a cage made of honeydew and wooden skewers. A V-cutter tool like those we have for sale in our shop can be used to make all the fuzzy looking feathers. The same technique was used to make my Easter chicks.

]]>https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/carved-vegetable-birds/feed/5Watermelon Lanterns – Create Elegant Atmosphere for Partieshttps://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/watermelon-lanterns/
https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/watermelon-lanterns/#commentsThu, 14 Sep 2017 01:02:30 +0000https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/?p=20812When you are planning to throw a party and want do decorate with something beautiful and unexpected, consider making some carved watermelon lanterns. When lit from inside in low light condition, they’ll add a mysterious aura of beauty and elegance to your event. Look over this whole article to see the most amazing example of […]

]]>When you are planning to throw a party and want do decorate with something beautiful and unexpected, consider making some carved watermelon lanterns. When lit from inside in low light condition, they’ll add a mysterious aura of beauty and elegance to your event. Look over this whole article to see the most amazing example of art on a watermelon lantern.

Here are a few watermelon lanterns before they were lit from inside, that were carved by Ernesto Alvarez. Scroll down to see how lovely they are once lights are added inside.

These watermelon carvings by Ernesto Alvarez take on a whole new look when lit from inside. Look at the following image to see them lit.

Here is how the graceful peacock watermelon lantern looks when lit from within.

Click here to find the pattern that Ernesto used for the Peacock carving above.

Ernesto carved this watermelon lantern with an arty abstract peacock feather motif. Here is it in ambient light (not lit from within)

And here is the same abstract pattern melon lit from inside

A pretty fleur de lis pattern is carved into this melon

An elegant brocade was the pattern used for this lit melon lantern. The pattern becomes more beautiful when lit from within. In the image below, you can see how this melon looked before it was lit.

Still quite pretty but it’s not quite as dramatic without the light inside, is it?

Ernesto used another elegant brocade design to carve this watermelon lantern.

You can use Halloween Patterns to Carve Watermelons.

Once it’s lit from inside, you can see it much clearer. This wolf image reminds me of Halloween pumpkin carving designs. You can use any Halloween pattern to carve a watermelon.

Detailed Art Watermelon Lantern

Oliver Tanner created this awesome watermelon lantern with one of Normal Rockwell’s beloved illustrations.

Oliver Tanner did an outstanding job of carving this well loved Norman Rockwell image into a watermelon that is lit from inside.

If you are not familiar with Norman Rockwell’s “No Swimming” illustration, here it is. Oliver did a wonderful representation of this image in his watermelon carving, didn’t he?

If you want to learn how to create a carving pattern from a photo or piece of art like the Norman Rockwell image pictured above, you will learn how in our Portrait Carving Course. In our Portrait Carving Course, you’ll also learn how to effectively light your carvings from within.

Make Your Own Watermelon Lanterns

These types of watermelon lanterns can be a beautiful addition to any celebration. They’d be great for weddings, birthdays, and more. Just change the images to fit your theme.

Once you find a design or pattern that you want to use, print it onto our Pattern Transfer Fabric, stick it onto your watermelon, and you are ready to carve. It’s the fastest, easiest way to transfer patterns onto your watermelons. And, you’ll find it much easier to effectively carve a beautiful pattern. You’ll find our time-saving Pattern Transfer Fabric in our online shop. When you scroll down our product page for our Pattern Transfer Fabric, you’ll see a video showing how easy it is to use.

]]>https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/watermelon-lanterns/feed/4Watermelon Portraits Honor Guest of Honorhttps://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/watermelon-portraits-guest-of-honor/
https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/watermelon-portraits-guest-of-honor/#respondFri, 21 Jul 2017 19:37:17 +0000https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/?p=20659One of my customers, who is a professional carver, purchased my Portrait Course a long time ago and never used it. Then recently, he was called upon to make some carved watermelon portraits for a private party. So, my customer, Ric Testani, needed to carve his first portraits. Ric was wise enough to set some […]

]]>One of my customers, who is a professional carver, purchased my Portrait Course a long time ago and never used it. Then recently, he was called upon to make some carved watermelon portraits for a private party. So, my customer, Ric Testani, needed to carve his first portraits.

Ric was wise enough to set some time aside in advance and make a few before the party to make sure he’d be able to deliver some good recognizable portraits. For privacy reasons, I am unable to reveal who the guest of honor was or where the party was. But, I can show you the photos of the carvings that he made. These were Ric’s first watermelon portraits ever. Here is what Ric had to say:

Here is what the final product looked like I can not use the name of who it was for or where it was. Signed a non-disclosure of the party. The security was so tight and no phones or cameras were allowed. The band that played for the evening was Chicago! There were 7 [watermelon portraits] like this for the display on the watermelon table. There were 6 others 3 were used on each bar with spouts to serve different watermelon flavored beverages from. I had a great time at this party. After carving 12 portraits I think I have it down pat…

I replied:

“Fantastic! You did a great job and now you have a whole new skill. Was the man of honor there? Did you get a lot of good reactions. I’ll bet you did! Your boss is lucky to have you!”

And Ric responded with:

Thank you it is only because you are a great teacher… The man was thrilled as was everyone else. These you can post with out the name of the guy or the party it was for. The other photos are the Versace and those were for the filming of the movie with Ricky Martin those you have open road to say what ever you want. Those you will see in the movie. I do like working with the Transfer Fabric most but I use so much of it I am just more comfortable with it.

Thank you for your wonderful help and support,

Ric Testani

Besides using the watermelon portraits for display, several were used as beverage dispensers. Click here to see an example of a carved watermelon beverage dispenser.

Want to Honor your Special Guest with Watermelon Portraits?

You can learn how to make watermelon portraits step-step in our Portrait Carving Course. You can find out more by clicking here. Not only will you learn how to carve watermelon portraits, you’ll learn the important steps for creating or choosing a good photo, making a pattern, and transferring the pattern to your melon. Once you know how, you can make any guest feel special at any type of celebration – birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, graduations and retirement parties. they will be surprised and delighted!

For more Watermelon Portraits

Want to see more watermelon portraits carved by students of our lessons? Take a look at a few of our past blog posts:

Pumpkin portraits, too

When you learn to create good carving patterns you’ll also be able to put your skills to use in the Fall when pumpkins come into season. Here are just a few of our blog posts showing pumpkin portraits.

]]>https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/watermelon-portraits-guest-of-honor/feed/0Versace Watermelon Carvings for upcoming TV serieshttps://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/versace-watermelon-carvings/
https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/versace-watermelon-carvings/#respondTue, 06 Jun 2017 21:58:28 +0000https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/?p=20478One of my customers, Ric Testani, who is a professional fruit carver had the opportunity to make some Versace watermelon carvings for the upcoming FX Limited Series, ‘Versace: American Crime Story’. The series, which co-stars Ricky Martin, was filming in the Versace mansion in South Beach, Florida. They producers wanted watermelons carved with the Versace logo […]

]]>One of my customers, Ric Testani, who is a professional fruit carver had the opportunity to make some Versace watermelon carvings for the upcoming FX Limited Series, ‘Versace: American Crime Story’. The series, which co-stars Ricky Martin, was filming in the Versace mansion in South Beach, Florida. They producers wanted watermelons carved with the Versace logo to use during the shoot. They found Ric via my website as we have featured some of Ric’s other carvings. Where these melons show up remains to be seen. You’ll have to watch to find out.

Here’s what Ric had to say about his carvings.

2 carvings for the Versace Mansion on South Beach the intricate detail work on each one took me 5 hours for each. The longest carving i have ever done but it was fun and came out pretty good.

And look at all the positive comments he got on Facebook.

Here’s a closer look at his two Versace watermelon carvings.

When the Versace movie comes out, watch for Ric’s watermelon carving somewhere in the mansion.

Here is the Versace logo that you can compare to the carvings to see the likeness.

Carving Watermelons with Patterns – You Can, too!

Ric did a beautiful job, didn’t he? Ric uses our Pattern Transfer Fabric to make carving patterns like this faster and easier.

I do like working with the Transfer Fabric… I use so much of it…
– Ric Testani

]]>https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/versace-watermelon-carvings/feed/0Easter Melon Carvingshttps://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/easter-melon-carvings/
https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/easter-melon-carvings/#commentsFri, 21 Apr 2017 15:58:03 +0000//www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/?p=20272Take a look at several beautiful Easter melon carvings that were made by a student and blog reader. These may give you some ideas for your next Easter carvings that will delight your friends and family. Isn’t this Easter lily melon bowl beautiful? It was created by Rose Flores who is a past student of my lessons. She […]

]]>Take a look at several beautiful Easter melon carvings that were made by a student and blog reader. These may give you some ideas for your next Easter carvings that will delight your friends and family.

Beautiful Easter lily watermelon carving by Roses Flores

Isn’t this Easter lily melon bowl beautiful? It was created by Rose Flores who is a past student of my lessons. She carved a pretty graphic pattern of an Easter lily then surrounded it with a circle with tiny carved zig zags that pick up the dark green of the rind. Then she carved a 3 dimensional petal pattern around the bowl.

You can learn to carve Easter Melon Carvings like these!

You can created lovely carvings with the carving techniques that Rose used. The petal pattern is taught in our Watermelon Cakes video lessons. You can learn to create a carve carve graphic patterns like this Easter Lily (above) and the Easter bunnies (below) in our video lessons Carving Letters and Words. The zig zag carving technique is taught in our video lessons, Carving Melons, Smooth and Jagged petals. Once you learn these techniques, you can mix and match them in your own original carvings as Rose has done so beautifully.

Helpful tools for making carvings like these

Our Pattern Transfer Fabric makes carving patterns like this faster and easier. And, our Thai Pro knife is essential for carving the delicate petal pattern so successfully, as well as for removing the dark green rind of the watermelon the lily pattern and the bunny pattern.

Two carvings I did for the celebration of Easter 2017….only had a couple hours to do the bunny carving, otherwise I would have made the white spaces a little cleaner….fun all the same….Happy Late Easter Greetings!!
– Rose Flores

This charming Easter Bunny centerpiece was made by Aby Viera. I features a cute Easter bunny made from honeydew melon with colored Easter eggs. The garden is made up of leeks, kale, carved cucumbers, small bell peppers and carved radishes.

Melons carved with roses can be used for many occasions.

“Blessings” watermelon carving for Easter by Aby Viera

This “Blessings” watermelon carving was also created by Aby. You can learn how to carve roses on watermelons in our video lessons, Roses Buds and Leaves. These lessons are available separately and as part of our 101 Course for Beginners.

Get more info on any of our lessons and tools by clicking the links in this article. Go to our Shop by clicking here.

I hope this gives you some fun ideas for making your own Easter melon carvings. So, have fun creating!

]]>https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/easter-melon-carvings/feed/1Pumpkin Heads for Presidenthttps://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/presidential-pumpkins/
https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/presidential-pumpkins/#respondSun, 09 Oct 2016 20:33:04 +0000//www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/?p=19479Of the Presidential pumpkins shown here, which pumpkin head do you like better? Hillary Pumpkin or Donald Trumpkin? We’ve got a couple of scary choices. Feel free to comment in the comments section below. What more can I say? Want to Carve Recognizable Pumpkin Portraits? You can carve pumpkin heads like these. It’s easier than you […]

Want to Carve Recognizable Pumpkin Portraits?

You can carve pumpkin heads like these. It’s easier than you may think when you have detailed instructions and the right tools. You’ll get step-by-step video instructions in our Portrait Carving Course for Pumpkins and Watermelons.

]]>https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/presidential-pumpkins/feed/0Alice in Wonderland Theme for Tim Tebow “Night To Shine” Promhttps://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/alice-in-wonderland-theme/
https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/alice-in-wonderland-theme/#commentsThu, 18 Feb 2016 23:59:41 +0000//www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/?p=18070One of my customers, Deborah Cheeseman created a beautiful and creative Alice in Wonderland theme carving display for her local “Night to Shine ” Event at her Church. What is A Night to Shine? “A Night to Shine” is the name of a wonderful prom event for people with special needs. The Tim Tebow Foundation […]

]]>One of my customers, Deborah Cheeseman created a beautiful and creative Alice in Wonderland theme carving display for her local “Night to Shine ” Event at her Church.

What is A Night to Shine?

“A Night to Shine” is the name of a wonderful prom event for people with special needs. The Tim Tebow Foundation sponsored over 200 churches to host “Night to Shine” Prom that took place over Valentine’s weekend. According to Tebow’s foundation, 32,000 people with special needs attended the event and a combined 70,000 volunteered to help make the night happen. Attendees enjoyed a night of dressing up, dancing, and music. A red carpet and friendly paparazzi greeted the prom goers at the entrance. Corsages and boutonniers were provided. Each prom-goer was greeted by a “buddy” who acted as their host for the evening. Inside there was food and dancing, formal photos, and each guest was crowned prom queen or king. What a heart warming event!

Deborah said of the “A Night to Shine,

Our young people gave up thee Fri might to make these precious people have a night to remember! I’m so proud of my four grandchildren. They made their “buddy” the center of their attention…they danced,sang and ate as if it was their prom night! My heart was bursting!
“A Night to Shine ” was the universal theme for all the proms he sponsored. Class act!

Here’s a short video to show you some of the highlights of the 2015 Night to Shine.

Alice in Wonderland Theme Vegetable and Fruit Carving Display

Keri Harmeier, the local leader of the “Night to Shine” event at Connect Church in Alabama, asked caterer and carver Deborah Cheeseman to come up with a display table with an Alice in Wonderland theme. Deborah come up with some great ideas for a magical looking table that served fruit cups.

Deborah first set the stage for her Alice in Wonderland themed carvings by setting up a “tree” structure on the table. She wound twinkle lights through the tree and beneath the white table cloth to produce a magical look.

Here is an overall look at the finished Alice in Wonderland table display that served easy to grab-and-go fruit cups. Each pedestal of the tree structure features an Alice in Wonderland theme carving. BTW, notice the “papparazzi” on the windows.

The following photos will show you more of the creative details of Deborah’s Alice in Wonderland theme.

Deborah carved this fun Cheshire Cat from diakon radish which she then dyed with food coloring. Isn’t it clever and cute?

I love the this simple yet very effective idea for cantaloupe carving that Deborah made to look like the Rabbit’s pocket watch.

The Mad Hatter’s Hat is made of dyed diakon radish

Deborahs’ Crazy double spout Teapot and teacup was made out of cantaloupe and diakon radish.

The signs and tiny door add more Alice in Wonderland theme embellishments to the tree.

Flowers with faces carved from daikon radish and dyed.

Isn’t it great how Deborah came up with so many different elements in her Alice in Wonderland theme table? Great ideas. Thoughtful creativity, and beautiful execution. And all for a worthy cause. A big thank you goes out to Deborah for volunteering here talent and for sharing her photos with us.

If you want to support the continued growth of Night to Shine with a donation, visit the Tim Tibow Foundation. To see more about the 2016 Tim Tebow Night to Shine in a Huffington Post article, click here.